Funeral Home Builds a Legacy of Comfort and Care

Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home

Photo: Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home

By DJ Guillemette, Grade 8 – St. Thomas School

Located at 580 Main St. in Springvale, Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home specializes in memorialization, cremation and funeral services. The business provides personalized, professional and compassionate service to help lighten the burden of individuals experiencing loss. This commitment has been a pledge of the funeral home for decades.

The history and evolution of Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home is an interesting one.

In 1938, Lionel Lafrance built a new funeral home bearing his name at 29 Winter St. in Sanford, which was later sold to a local dentist, Dr. Walter Ouellette, in 1947. The Boisvert family became the owners in 1961 and managed the funeral home for 19 years, until it was sold to Normand Lambert in 1980. The funeral home operated as Lafrance-Lambert Funeral Home for 24 years before being purchased by John and Lori Black. In 2020, the Blacks transferred ownership to Adam and Caitlin Walker, owners of Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Homes of Portland and South Portland. Just two years later, in December 2022, LaFrance-Lambert and Black Funeral Home closed permanently, the focus shifting to the Main Street, Springvale location also owned by the Walkers: Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home.

Carll-Heald & Black, according to their website, is “successor to several firms in western York County with roots back to the 1920s.” Today, it is the only funeral home in operation in Sanford. The business reflects the names of Lucene “Sammy” Carll, who ran the business from 1948-1961, James and David Heald, owners in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, and John and Lori Black, owners from 2005 until 2020.

Although the history of Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home has been ever-changing, one thing has remained consistent: the level of trust and personalized care it provides its clients.

Daniel Guillemette, general manager and funeral director, agrees. Guillemette states, “I got started in the business because I wanted to help families during their times of loss.” He remarks that this is both the most rewarding and challenging part of his profession. He emphasizes that he especially values the work he does because he was born and raised in Sanford and has strong connections to the area. He appreciates the working relationship he has with the organization’s five full-time employees and numerous part-timers.

Guillemette also values the various community initiatives that go hand-in-hand with his work. He is currently involved with Oakdale Cemetery and has recently collaborated with Friends of Oakdale Cemetery on a cemetery mapping project. Guillemette assists the group with access to death records so they can thoroughly map out locations of stones and markers and the individuals buried there. In addition, Guillemette explains that the funeral home proudly supports various charities and groups within the community. This list includes, but is not limited to, the Sanford Elks, St. Thomas School, and the Sanford Dog Park. It also has a strong commitment to supporting veterans.

Guillemette is proud to be affiliated with Carll-Heald & Black, an organization that promotes integrity, compassion, respect, understanding, sympathy and dignity, particularly in a family’s time of need. Learn more by visiting www.blackfuneralhomes.com, calling 207-324-4104 or emailing Dan@BlackFuneralHomes.com.